When it comes to writing blog posts, how often do you draw a blank? An empty Word document can be a pretty intimidating place when you don’t know where to start.

Luckily, there’s a trick to it and it’s all about structure. Armed with the handy outline I share in this video, you’ll be able to write your blog posts in super quick time.

When it comes to writing, structure has a lot to answer for. It acts like a skeleton, giving you a framework from which to begin. I’m lost without structures and I know once you start using this simple technique, you’ll want to do this for everything you write.

So dive in and watch the video. Got any questions? Comment below.

When you structure blog posts things really do become a whole lot easier. You’ll have a well thought out outline containing all your ideas to come back to for draft 1.

Let’s recap that structure again:

Title – promise the benefit

Engage

Inspire

Detail

Summary

Call to action

As I mention in the video, my 6-week blogging course goes into this structure and other formulas in lots of detail. You’ll come away brimming with new methods for conquering your content. Find out more about the course here.

Is persuasion the holy grail of writing? To have someone read your words and do something because of them?

In business, we write persuasively for many reasons – we’re always trying to alter someone’s point of view.

Whether we’re turning a cold prospect on Facebook into an email subscriber with an opt-in, or transforming a warm prospect into an eager client with a proposal, it’s all about the language we use.

Persuasive language is key to this. My free Power Words download is one of the most effective ways to access a bank of these inspirational words. Litter a few of those over your prose and you’re sure to notice a difference.

For a fast and effective alternative, watch the video below. In it, I give away my number one tip for figuring out which words will be most effective.

For the last week, I’ve spent the first hour of every morning finding reasons to not get out of bed and go for a run. So far, I’ve used:

I’ll do it later (I don’t)

I went for a walk yesterday, that counts

I’m sure it won’t make that much difference if I miss it today

Maybe running’s not for me…

My knees ache today

It looks wet; could be dangerous

It’s too late now…

Seven days of this and I’m thoroughly disappointed with myself. It’s now harder than ever to go for that run. “If only I’d started a week ago”, I think to myself. “If only I JFDI!”

Motivation is a simple beast

It’s intrinsically tied to progress. If you can see that you’re making progress, that you’re moving towards your goals, taking action (remaining motivated) is much, much easier. Over time, as you build up the habit of action, it becomes effortless.

You need to know your goals

KEY to motivation is knowing what your goals are. When it comes to running, I need to keep my goal of running a 10K race this year front of mind; and when it comes to writing great content, you need to keep why you’re doing it front of mind too.

(A glance at those not-running-today excuses and I know I’ve made an equivalent pass for not writing content. Have you?)

Didn’t happen.

So, why DO you want to create regular content?

SEO?

I will tell you now that motivating yourself to regularly write creative, articulate, insightful and engaging content BECAUSE OF A MACHINE is not motivation enough.

Also, you’ll spend your time fixating on keywords rather than telling a really good story, and the actual humans in your life really don’t care about keywords.

Maybe someone told you, you should be blogging

Er… alright, but WHY should you be blogging? SEO again? Good practice? Everybody else is doing it?

THIS is why sticking to your content calendar is completely worth it:

It makes you an expert

There’s a misconception that you have to know everything about something before you can write about it. Au contraire. Half the joy of writing is investigating, discovering and establishing points of view. You don’t have to fully understand a subject to write about it.

The research and writing process helps develop your opinions. And questioning an established point of view can be powerful and engaging too.

Writing regular content nurtures curiosity – a pathway to creativity and to authority. Expertise is earned, not given. The more you write, research, share and discover, the sharper your expertise becomes.

It gives you something to talk about (and makes marketing your business a thousand times easier)

If you write that blog post today, tomorrow you’ll have something to post on LinkedIN, to link to from Facebook and Twitter; you’ll have something to mention in passing on that client call at 2pm.

You’ll have ready-made material for your monthly newsletter. You’ll have a reason to email your clients or prospects. You’ll have the beginning perhaps, of a much bigger piece of content – a guide, a whitepaper, an e-course.

Sticking to your content calendar makes marketing your business easier. Twenty minutes a day and you can have a fine piece of content to share each week.

This is you, taking care of YOUR BUSINESS

I know you’re busy serving clients every day. I know you’re 100% focused on them, 100% of the time. But when we focus on everybody else and fail to look after ourselves, the cracks start to show.

Developing the habit of doing something for your business each day is a valuable habit to nurture. And regularly writing content is a proactive way of communicating with your audience, proactively taking charge of your marketing rather than allowing it to happen organically at the whimsy of others.

Taking care of YOUR BUSINESS is just as important as taking care of your clients.

Six solid reasons (beyond SEO) for sticking to your content calendar:

Put your editorial trainers on and go for a writerly run.

Demonstrates your authority and expertise

Nurtures the habit of curiosity (which is great for creativity and authority)

Helps you develop and form opinions (which are handy when networking)

Gives you something to talk about with your customers and prospects

Makes marketing so much easier (because the content is already created)

Takes care of YOUR business

Is that motivation enough for you? Or do you need a little bit more? If so, try my 5-day Content Challenge. The task management process alone will reap rewards.

Of course, if the motivation really escapes you – and you’ve recognised content creation is not the best use of your time – outsource it to Incredibble. Our team will make short work of it.

On average, it takes around 4-5 hours to create the perfect piece of content. What’s 5 hours of your time worth to you?

I help clients write regular emails, blog posts, brochures and website copy – all sorts of content for all sorts of clients. My team of amazing copywriters is ready to help you communicate clearly and consistently.

Incredibble Content Creation

Delegate your copywriting to Incredibble, and you’ll go through the process mapped out on the infographic below. I’ll personally call you to understand your needs, your business, capture your tone of voice and crystallise your aims – what are you trying to achieve?

I’ll have my SEO experts look over your keywords and the current content trends in your marketplace. This will help us generate content ideas that really appeal to your audience.

Once everything is approved, it’s over to the team to create.

Get ready for consistent client communications! For more about our copywriting services, please go here.

Here’s the complete content creation process:

Contact me today to talk through your needs and set the engine in motion. Your content marketing machine awaits.